Category: Music Reviews

You would never know Lili Kendall was only 16 years of age if you listened to this album. At the age of 16, Kendall’s vocals are full of the soul and experience one would expect from an artist much older than she. She’s definitely an up and coming artist that will not quickly be forgotten, not to mention she wrote the tracks on the EP in collaboration with her producer, Jeffrey Joslin. Although this EP was released in early 2013, Kendall’s music career is already on the rise as she released her album “Move” in October 2013. This EP, produced in Australia, features a majority of guitar and piano mixed tracks which only seem to compliment Kendall’s voice even more. Like I said, you’d never know this artist was only 16!

Having already released four previous albums, Kristy Hanson is no stranger to the music scene. Raised in Florida for most of her life, Hanson started taking voice lessons at the age of twelve, it was around this time that she also began playing the acoustic guitar. From there she began to play at local coffee houses and bookstores. Hanson now resides in L.A. where this latest EP was produced. Her current EP “Piece of Your Heart” features an electric retro pop twist as well as the layering of Hanson’s voice in the majority of the tracks. Hanson’s smooth vocal stylings alone will make your ears very happy ears. Most of the tracks feature a strong guitar and piano mix, but tracks like “Let Yourself Go” feature a standout, strong bass progression that will have you nodding along with the track. Although this EP was released in November 2013, I recommend giving it a try if you haven’t already.

Wild Adriatic is a trio of friends from Saratoga Springs, NY. Their album “Big Suspicious” was released on January 21, 2014 and boy does this album pack a punch. Falling under the Rock genre, this album is much more than meets the eye. According to the group, their hope for the album was to recreate the sounds of artists popular in the 70’s which is evident in the album. The album itself is filled with classic guitar riffs and drum beats of Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. These sounds mixed with strong vocals of lead singer Travis Gray make for one very outstanding album. I’d be surprised if you could find one track to enjoy on this album as this album will leave you wanting more from this group. This up and coming band is definitely someone to pay attention to.

So here we are again, listening to the latest and highly anticipated Behemoth album. This is Behemoth’s tenth album since forming in 1991, and this is the first release since Adam “Nergal” Darski’s victory over leukemia.

All of the trademark Behemoth traits are here, in The Satanist, the ferocious roaring of Nergal, the amazing yet intense drumming of Inferno, the signature tremolo riffing, and the dark, anti-religious atmosphere. The Satanist does not, however, rely on insane, intensity and brutality 100% of the time. There are some really fantastic moments of mid-paced melody that complement the blackened death metal style. Other fans/reviewers might criticize this melody as “slow”, but I find that it adds an element of dark foreboding to an already dark and incensed style. There are even some solo breaks in this album!!

This album, even with the pretty extensive hype, is pretty awesome. It hits all of the things that I really like in the land of metal. It is intense, it has catchiness, it has atmosphere, and it is fun. I can’t recommend this one enough. It’ll be in a lot of “Best metal albums of 2014” lists. There isn’t a bad track on the album.